Contact strip annealing furnace



May 18, 1943 R. w. COOK CONTACT STRIP ANNEALING FURNACE Filed Aug. 1'7. 1942 RAYMOND W, COOK Patented May 18,1943

CONTACT STRIP ANNEALING FURNACE I Raymond W. Cook, Bristol, Com, assignor to Associated Spring Corporation, Bristol, Conn, a

corporation of Delaware Application'August 17, 1942, Serial No. 455,103

3 Claims: ((1266- 3) This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application Serial No. 294,017,

filed September 8, 1939, for Contact strip annealing furnace.

By the invention disclosed inthis and the par, ent application I provide means for heating strip metal, in which two imperforate, endless metallic belts are mounted on pulleys so that parts thereof will be in opposed, face-to-face relation and will'be spaced sufficiently to engage the opposite faces of a strip of metal passed therebetween, the belts and the strip being moved to cause the contacting parts thereof totravel together throughout, a part of the total travel of the belts, and; the belts being heated in order to transfer heat" to the strip by conduction throughout the contacting length of the belts and strip.

In the use of vertical or inclined strip heating means according to my invention, in which-the heating belts depend from supporting pulleys, it has been found that the belts, when heated, will be stretched by theirown weight. It is the object of the invention described and claimed in this application to provide a furnace chamber within which the belts are positioned and which is formed with recesses or wells within which any slack due to stretching of the belts is received.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be made apparent by the following description and the annexed drawing, it being clearly understood, however, that such description and drawing are merely illustrative 'of the invention, which is not limited 'in any way thereby or otherwise than by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing, in which similar reference numerals refer to like parts,

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a heat treating apparatus according to my invention, and

'Fig. 2 is a view of a second form of a heat treating apparatus embodying my invention.

In Fig. l of thedrawing there is disclosed an apparatus and chamber according to my invention, the chamber comprising the upper wall I, the side walls 2, 3-and'the bottom wall I. v The lower wall 4 is formed with a central'raised 'portion S'defining two wells or recesses G, I which are respectively located between the sides ofthe raised portion of the lower wall and the side walls 2. 3 of the chamber, and which are provided for a purpose to be explained hereinafter. An inlet port 8 is provided in the upper part of the chamber. preferably in the side wall '2, as illustrated, and an .outlet port 9 is provided in the lower wall l,-preierably centrally of theface contactual engagement therewith.

raised portion 5 thereof, these ports providing means for leading the strip into and out of the chamber. Within this chamber and at the upper part thereof are two pulleys l0, ll. from which respectively depend endless imperforate" metallic belts l2, l3. The pulleys are so positioned with respect to each other that adjacent depending belt reaches i4, are in face-to-face parallel relation and are spaced apart sufilciently to receive a metal strip I6 therebetween in face-torolle'rs l1, I8 are mounted just above the raised portion'5 of the lower wall and are positioned at opposite sides of the outlet port 9? Other idler rollers l9,'2ll'are mounted just below and later- 'all'yfoutwardly from the rollers I], 1.8, being respectively located at the inner and upper corners of -the wells 6, l; The lower part -of the endless belt i2 is trained under the roller I! and over the roller l9 whereby it is guided over the well 6, while endless belt I3 is trained under roller l8 and over roller 20 whereby it is guided over the well I. Heating means for the belts, such as radiant tubes, are provided within the chamber and are illustrated at 2l.

It will be understood that as the belts are heated they will become'elongated. Any increase in the length of either of them willn'ierely cause a part of the belt to travel downwardly into the well thereunder after it passes over the roller 19 to 2.0, thereby preventing dragging of the belts on the lower or other wall of the chamber and consequently preventing the marring of the belt which would be caused by such contact with the Serial No. 455,105. Such heating belts ina furof the belts are trained over pulleys 30, 3i and 32, 33 in the same manner as is illustrated in mice provided with the slack-receiving wells of this invention are disclosed in Fig. 2 of the drawing. In this embodiment the parts of the belts which contact thefmetal strip are arranged in av circuitous ,path, as illustrated. The lower parts Fig. 1 whereby the belts will'be led above the wells or recesses 34, 35'which receive any slack therein due to stretching or otherwise.

while I'have illustrated, various forms which my invention may take, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments of the invention may be made and that im- Idler provements and changes may be made therein, allwithout departing in any way from the spirit or scope of the invention, for the limits of which reference must be had to the appended claims.

What is claimed is: i

1. An apparatus for heat treating strip metal, comprising a furnace chamber, a plurality of endless, imperforate metallic belts in said chamber, means at the upper portion of said chamber for supporting said belts in such a manner that the belts depend from the supports in such positions that adjacent vertical reaches of the belts ends thereof as the belts are elongated by. heat, means for moving each belt along its endless path, means for heating the belts, the lower portion of the furnace chamber being provided with a central raised portion having a port therein through which the metallic strip is adapted to pass, the raised portion forming with the opposite are in spaced face-to-face relation whereby a moving metal strip-may be maintained therebetween in face-to-face contact therewith and whereby slack portions of the belts are caused at the lower ends thereof asthe belts are elongated by, heat, means for moving each belt along its endless path, means for heating the belts, the lower portion of the furnace chamber having spaced wells therein which are offset laterally the belts. and within each of which the slack in one of the endless belts is received, and means for guiding that part of each endless belt which with respect to the adjacent verticalreaches of 3 has moved out of contact with the strip to a position over and-into one .of said wells.

metalstrip may be therebetwen in face-to-facei contact therewith and whereby- -sla'ck portions of thebelts are caused at the lower side wall of the furnace spaced wells which are ofl'set laterally with respect to the adjacent vertical reaches of the belts and within each of which the slack in one of the endless belts is received, and means for guiding that part of each endless belt which has moved out of contact with the strip to a position over and into one of the wells.

3. A furnace chamber fora strip metal heating apparatus of the type in which two endless, imper forate metallic belts depend from supports in the upper portion of the furnace chamber in 3 such positions that remote depending reaches of thebeltsare positioned adjacent opposite side walls of the furnace and adjacent vertical reaches of the belts are in spaced face-to-face relation whereby a moving metal strip may be maintained ther'ebetween in face-to-face contact therewith and whereby slack portions of the belts are caused'at the lower ends thereof as the belts .are elongated by heat, said chamber comprising upper,- lower and side-walls, the lower wall having a central raised portion defining two wells which are located between the opposite sides of the raised'portion and the opposite side walls of the chamber andwhich are offset laterally with respect tothe adjacent reaches of the belts,

, and within which wens M in the belts is adapted to be received, and means for guiding that part of each endless belt which has moved out'of contact with the strip to a position over and into one of said wells.

w. COOK. 

